Stocks and precious metals are mixed in post-holiday-weekend trading. Crude oil fluctuated overnight, but it was recently a bit lower. Treasuries are down, while the dollar is flat.
Crude oil prices have fallen more than 20% in the last month, but they’re steadying today amid fresh tensions between US and Iranian negotiators. Representatives from both sides, plus mediators from Pakistan and Qatar, agreed to meet in Burgenstock, Switzerland. But ongoing fighting between Hezbollah and Israel is thwarting progress in the talks.
USO, AMZN, ABBV, APGE (YTD % Change)
Data by YCharts
The next major “official” holiday is the Fourth of July. But Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) is about to launch its 12th annual fake holiday – Prime Day. The online retailer will roll out all kinds of deals to get people to spend money on its platform starting Tuesday and continuing over four days.
Adobe Inc. (ADBE) estimates consumers will spend $26.3 billion on Amazon and the websites of competing retailers like Walmart Inc. (WMT) who will run their own sales. That would be a 9% year-over-year rise. Amazon launched the “holiday” back in 2015 to encourage people to sign up for its Prime subscription program, which now costs $139 per year. Amazon stock is up 5.8% year-to-date.
Finally, AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) said it would buy Apogee Therapeutics Inc. (APGE) for $10.9 billion. While not exactly a mega-deal, it is one of the larger takeovers we’ve seen in the pharmaceutical space recently. AbbVie wants to bolster its pipeline by adding drugs Apogee is working on, including a promising eczema treatment. AbbVie stock is down 3.6% YTD, while Apogee stock is up 19.7%.
